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That was the question I needed to ask myself. Is there a need for yet another Catholic voice out in the blogosphere? Do I have anything to contribute to the current dialogue that would hopefully be relevant and constructive? What I do have is a wonderful and supportive wife who felt that I had something worth saying and who encouraged me to undertake this journey.

I was blessed to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation and enter the Catholic Church back in 2006. Since then I have sought to continuously learn more and more about the Church. During my journey I have had the opportunity to meet and learn from many knowledgeable and faithful Catholics who have helped me to continuously grow in the Faith. I have also been blessed with a very holy and traditional pastor during this time who always challenges his flock to pursue holiness through living a life in total fidelity to Holy Mother Church.

Several years ago I first heard the Latin expression, “lex orandi, lex credendi” which translates to the “law of prayer is the law of belief”. To paraphrase, how we worship is how we believe. Added to this sometimes is “lex vivendi” which completes the thought: how we pray is how we believe which is how we live.

We know from St. Matthew’s Gospel that our Lord teaches us, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment”. The supreme prayer of the Church is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Indeed, the Eucharist is the “source and the summit” of our life.

Over the years since entering the Catholic Church I have continued to grow in my love of the Holy Mass. The Mass is the liturgical prayer of the Church. Defined, liturgy is simply a prescribed form or set of forms and rituals for public religious worship. Among friends and family I have become the “liturgy guy” because of my love for the Mass. I claim no expertise. I have never formally studied religion, theology or liturgy. From what I can tell, however, I have studied the Catholic Mass (both it’s form and historical development) more than the average guy in the pew. I am hardly an expert on the liturgy…but I am an enthusiast!

So, to come full circle, why another Catholic blog? And why blog about life, liturgy and the pursuit of holiness from a Catholic perspective?

Because how we worship effects what we believe which then influences how we live. There is a uniquely Catholic way to worship. A traditional and reverent liturgy which is unabashedly Catholic, far from being optional, is actually a necessity for imparting the faith. An understanding of why we worship and how we worship helps to form us as Catholics. What we believe, from the centrality of Christ in our lives to His real presence in the Eucharist, can either be reinforced by beautiful liturgy or under cut by profane liturgy. If we fail at the first and greatest commandment to love our Lord with all our heart, soul and mind particularly with the highest form of worship that God has given the Church, then our growth in holiness will be impeded.

Every few days I will be posting about life, liturgy and the pursuit of holiness. I hope you choose to follow my blog and to tell your friends about it. I also encourage you to leave your own comments. God bless!